Freedom’s Threats (Galatians 2:1-10)
An Arab chief tells a story of a spy who was captured and then sentenced to death by a general in the Persian army. This general had the strange custom of giving condemned criminals a choice between the firing squad and the big, black door. As the moment for execution drew near, the spy was brought to the Persian general, who asked the question, “What will it be: the firing squad or the big, black door?”
The spy hesitated for a long time. It was a difficult decision. He chose the firing squad.
Moments later shots rang out confirming his execution. The general turned to his aide and said, “They always prefer the known way to the unknown. It is characteristic of people to be afraid of the undefined. Yet, we gave him a choice.”
The aide said, “What lies beyond the big door?”
“Freedom,” replied the general. “I’ve known only a few brave enough to take it.” (“Reasons to Fear Easter,” Preaching Today, Tape No. 116)
The door to freedom scares a lot of people. They prefer the comfort of the known, even if it means death, to the uncertainty of the unknown. As a result, very few people actually find freedom from the attitudes and habits that enslave them day after day. They live their lives under a cloud of condemnation just waiting to be shot down in front of a firing squad of self-righteous critics.
My friends, that’s no way to live your life! God intended for us to live free, to enjoy life in His Son, and to enjoy Him in this life on our way to heaven.
The question is: how? How do we get the courage to walk through that big, black door of freedom? How do we get the courage to live free as God intended us to? How do we get the courage to enjoy real liberty in Christ?
Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Galatians 2, Galatians 2, where we find out how to get that courage. Galatians 2, starting at vs.1 (read to vs.2)
vs.1 Fourteen years later – i.e., 14 years after Paul’s first visit to Jerusalem, he says – I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas – his mentor and colleague in ministry. I took Titus along also – one of their Gentile converts.
vs.2 I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain.
Paul was afraid that his ministry among the Gentiles might all come to nothing, because of the false teachers that dogged his steps. Paul would teach the Gentiles that freedom from sin is gained simply through faith in Christ. Then Jewish false teachers would come along right behind him and tell these new believers that they must also obey the Mosaic Law in order to enjoy favor with God. They would teach these Gentiles that in order to be good Christians, they must first be good Jews and be circumcised.
So Paul goes to the leaders of the church in Jerusalem along with Barnabas (his Jewish colleague in ministry) and Titus (a Gentile convert). They are going to try to come together in the truth in order to keep false teachers from blocking the way to true freedom. Acts 15 gives us the full details of this conference, but the upshot of it all is found in the next verse.
vs.3 Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.
The point is Gentiles don’t have to become good Jews in order to be good Christians. They don’t have to be circumcised. They don’t have to keep some legalistic standard in order to find favor with God. All they have to do is trust Christ. This was a very important matter on which all the leaders in the early church were able to agree.
vs.4 This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.
They wanted to sabotage Paul’s ministry and turn his converts into slaves to their own religious systems. But…
vs.5 We – i.e., ALL the leaders in the church – WE did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.
The first century believers came together in the truth of the Gospel. They all agreed that our salvation is by God’s grace alone through faith in God’s Son alone without any additional requirements. They stood together against the legalists of their day, not giving in to them for one moment.
And that’s what we must do if we’re going to enjoy our freedom in Christ. We must COME TOGETHER IN THE TRUTH. WE MUST UNIFY AROUND THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL. WE MUST AGREE THAT FAITH IN CHRIST REALLY IS ENOUGH FOR PEOPLE TO FIND ACCEPTANCE WITH GOD AND WITH US.
The problem is our society tells people that they must be beautiful, they must be thin, or they must be “good” in order to be accepted.
But Jesus says, “WHOEVER believes in Him has eternal life” (John 3:16).
The Bible says, “Righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to ALL who believe” (Romans 3:22). “To the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness” (Romans 4:3).
Did you hear that? God justifies the wicked. He declares them righteous when they trust Christ, not when they do enough work.
That’s the truth of the gospel. & That’s the truth that will set us free! We find acceptance with God simply through faith in Christ.
Nearly 20 years ago, Charles Colson and several other Christian leaders met with then President Borja of Ecuador to discuss Prison Fellowship’s ministry in the Ecuadorian prisons. As soon as they were seated in luxurious leather chairs, the President interrupted the conversation with the story of his own imprisonment years before becoming president.
He had been involved in the struggle for democracy in Ecuador. The military cracked down, and he was arrested. Without trial, they threw him into a cold dungeon with no light and no window. For three days he endured the solitary fear and darkness that can drive a person mad.
Just when the situation seemed unbearable, the huge steel door opened, and someone crept into the darkness. Borja heard the person working on something in the opposite corner. Then the figure crept out, closed the door, and disappeared.
Minutes later the room suddenly blazed with light. Someone, perhaps taking his life into his hands, had connected electricity to the broken light fixture. “From that moment,” explained President Borja, “my imprisonment had meaning because at least I could see.” (Ronald W. Nikkel in Fresh Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching, Baker)
That’s what the light of the truth does for us. It gives us the courage to pursue our freedom in Christ. & We must rally around that truth if we’re going to experience that freedom. We must come together in the truth of the gospel.
And then we must WORK TOGETHER FOR THE TRUTH. WE MUST LABOR WITH EACH OTHER TO PROCLAIM AND LIVE OUT THE GOSPEL. WE MUST BECOME PARTNERS TOGETHER IN SHARING THE GOOD NEWS of our acceptance with God simply through faith in His Son.
That’s what the early church leaders did.
vs.6 As for those who seemed to be important—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance—those men added nothing to my message.
The leaders of the early church didn’t add a single thing to Paul’s message. Instead, they partnered with Him to get the message out.
vs.7-9 On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews. For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles. James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews.
That “right hand of fellowship” was very significant to them. Today, we’ll shake hands with total strangers in a receiving line, and it doesn’t mean much.
It reminds me of the story of Churchill, standing in a receiving line and bored to death. So he decided to start telling the people shaking his hand, “I killed Mrs. Churchill tonight,” just to see what kind of a reaction he would get. He said it in a very pleasant voice just like he was saying, “Hello,” and most of the people responded, “That’s nice. Isn’t it a pleasant evening.” They weren’t even paying attention! Then one man whispered in Churchill’s ear, “I’m sure she had it coming.”
How often do we shake hands and it really doesn’t mean much. Not so in the first century. When they extended “the right hand of fellowship,” they were forming a partnership. They were agreeing to share together in a common task.
In this case, it was the task of proclaiming the Gospel. & They agreed not only to proclaim it together. They agreed to live it out together as well.
vs.10 All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.
You see, the doctrine of our acceptance by faith alone doesn’t exclude us from reaching out to the poor. If anything, it should encourage us all the more to reach out to those that nobody else accepts.
We not only preach the Gospel, we live it out by remembering the poor.
The early church leaders became partners together in sharing the good news by word and by deed. And that’s what we must do if we’re going to have the courage to pursue our freedom in Christ. We must not only come together IN the truth. We must work together FOR the truth.
One a warm spring evening in May 1998, Christopher Sercy was playing basketball with a few friends half a block from Ravenswood Hospital. Three teenage Latino gang members looking for a black target approached the young Sercy and shot him in the abdomen.
His frantic friends carried him to within 30 feet of the hospital and ran inside for help. The emergency room personnel refused to go outside to assist the dying boy, citing a policy that only allows them to help those who are inside the hospital.
The boys called for nearby police to attend their wounded friend. When the officers arrived on the scene they proceeded to call for an ambulance, but refused to carry the boy inside, again citing policy.
While bystanders pled with the officers to get the boy into the hospital, he lay in a pool of blood unconscious. When, after several minutes, the ambulance had not yet arrived, the police gave in and carried Sercy into the emergency room. By then, nothing could be done to save his life.
Standard operating procedures (SOP) kept them from saving the boy. Initially, hospital administration vehemently defended their ER’s lack of involvement. And only after a barrage of community outrage did Ravenswood Hospital reverse its policy of treating only those inside its doors. (Greg Asimakoupoulos, from the files of Leadership)
When our legalistic standards keep us from helping people in need, then we need to dump those standards, especially those of us who preach the good news of God’s unconditional love. We must work together to proclaim that truth, not only in our words, but in our deeds as well.
That means “extending the right hand of fellowship” to those who are different than us. That means working along side of those who have different priorities and tastes. That means partnering with those who don’t like the same music we do, or those who have completely different interests than we do.
That’s the genius of the Church of Jesus Christ!
Philip Yancey put it this way in an article in Christianity Today just this last November. He writes, “As I read accounts of the New Testament church, no characteristic stands out more sharply than [diversity]. Beginning with Pentecost, the Christian church dismantled the barriers of gender, race, and social class that had marked Jewish congregations. Paul, who as a rabbi had given thanks daily that he was not born a woman, slave, or Gentile, marveled over the radical change: ‘There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.’
“One modern Indian pastor told me, ‘Most of what happens in Christian churches, including even miracles, can be duplicated in Hindu and Muslim congregations. But in my area only Christians strive, however ineptly, to mix men and women of different castes, races, and social groups. That’s the real miracle.’”
Yancey continues, “Diversity complicates rather than simplifies life. Perhaps for this reason we tend to surround ourselves with people of similar age, economic class, and opinion. Church offers a place where infants and grandparents, unemployed and executives, immigrants and blue bloods can come together. Just yesterday,” Yancey wrote, “I sat sandwiched between an elderly man hooked up to a tank puffing oxygen and a breastfeeding baby who grunted loudly and contentedly throughout the sermon. Where else can we find that mixture?
“When I walk into a new church,” Yancey says, “the more its members resemble each other—and resemble me—the more uncomfortable I feel.” (Philip Yancey, “Denominational Diagnostics,” Christianity Today, November 2008, p. 119)
You see, that is NOT what the church is all about. The church is about different people – black and white, male and female, young and old –
coming together in the truth of the Gospel and working together for the truth of the Gospel.
This year, we are making a concerted effort to connect the generations in Christ. This is not just some nice slogan we have adopted for the year. This is what Christ calls us to do!
That may mean sitting between a young mother nursing her baby and an old man sucking oxygen from a tank. That may mean singing contemporary Christian songs and old hymns in the same service. That may mean worshipping with people who like to stand and raise their hands and those who are content to sit and keep their hands folded on their lap.
It’s not the outward expression that matters. It is faith in Christ.
My friends, we must come together in the truth. & We must work together for the truth if we’re going to be all that God has called us to be as a church. We must find unity, even in our diversity, if we’re going to be totally free to love people as God loved us.
I like the way Mark DeYmaz put it. He is pastor of the Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas, a multi-ethnic church, which brings people together not only of different age groups, but of different races and economic classes. It is uncomfortable being with people who are different than we are, but DeYmaz says, “The church ought to be a place in which people are comfortable being uncomfortable.” Christians must realize “that they are a part of something much bigger than themselves.”
Then DeYmaz goes on to share a story that shows the beauty—and complexity—of our diversity in the church:
Assume for a moment that Grandma, who is alive and well, lives in the same house with you, your spouse, and several children of varying age. Now in your home, one tradition involves the family meal. Indeed, you expect the entire family to come to the table when dinner is served.
However, one night you arrive home, only to be challenged in this regard. On this occasion, Grandma has arrived early to help feed the baby while you help your spouse set the table. Soon your twelve-year-old twins enter the room arguing over television rights; nevertheless, they are seated and it is time to pray. At that moment, however, you realize someone is missing. Your teenage son is not at the table. Heading upstairs to see what’s the matter, you find him playing a video game in his room; he is wearing headphones so as not to be disturbed.
“Why,” you inquire, “are you not at the table? Didn’t you hear Mom say it’s time to eat?”
“Oh yeah,” he replies, with just a touch of attitude. “I heard her. But I’m not coming to dinner tonight. Mom’s serving meatloaf, and I don’t like it.”
How would you respond as a parent? If you are a conscientious parent, you would most likely tell your son to [go to the table whether he likes it or not]. And in so doing, of course, you would teach him a most profound lesson: It’s not about the food; it’s about the family.
“Look, Son,” you might say, “I don’t care what we’re eating tonight. You’re coming to dinner because you’re a part of this family. You see, it’s not so much the meal but the memories we make that’s important. And when you’re not there, we miss out on all you contribute, and you miss out, too. Sure it’s meatloaf tonight, but tomorrow we’re having pizza!”
Of course, the next night you will not need to have the same talk with Grandma. In her maturity, she learned long ago to appreciate the blessing of life and love. And while her stomach will not allow her to eat the pizza, she will enjoy watching her grandchildren tear into it! Yes, in that moment, she will be thankful just to have a seat at the table, still to be alive and a part of the family.” (Mark DeYmaz, Building a Healthy Multi-ethnic Church, Jossey-Bass, 2007, p. 111)
My friends, when we come together as the church here on Washington Island, let’s remember “It’s not about the food; it’s about the family.” It’s not about the music; it’s about the memories we make together.
And for those of us who are more mature, while we may not like “the pizza” that the younger generation brings to the table, let’s enjoy watching them tear into the bread of life and be glad we’re all a part of the family.
Let’s make this song our prayer, as we head into the new year together:
Bind us together, Lord;
Bind us together with cords that cannot be broken.
Bind us together, Lord;
Bind us together, Lord;
Bind us together with love.
